RORY PRESSES TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT FOR ASSURANCES ON HS2 DISRUPTION

17/06/2013

Rory has requested assurances from Ministers within the Department for Transport that any disruption to services at Euston Station – the London station at which trains from Penrith and the Border arrive – as a result of the construction of the HS2 railway line, should be minimised, and to call for a coherent plan to avoid such disruptions to be put in place in advance.

Rory has called for clarity on the scale and effect of any disruption to the London destination, and indeed to the West Coast line that is so critical to the Cumbrian economy.

Rory said: “Potential disruptions that could have an enormously negative impact on our economy and livelihoods have been brought to my attention, and I have today written to the Minister of State, Simon Burns, to request his feedback on the concerns that constituents are raising. Finally we have along the West Coast a service that is reliable and efficient – everyone agrees on that – and we do not want to return to a time when Cumbrians and visitors to Cumbria could not access the county at the weekend. Rumours of potential closures at Euston Station are incredibly worrying, but we need to get our facts straight. That is why I have contacted Ministers for clarity. Clearly we need to confront the potential impact to Cumbrians of the building of HS2 well in advance, and I will be looking to monitor this very closely indeed.”

Rory also continues to press for a Westminster Hall debate on disabled access at railway stations, and continues to lobby Ministers for the overdue improvements to northbound platform access at Penrith Station.